The Pet Expert

By Marc Morrone

Published: Saturday, July 20, 2013 at 04:45 PM.

Q: My husband and I adopted a stray cat that had been rescued and sheltered for a few months with friends. He is very sociable, playful and loving, but he is used to getting his way. Since we live on a busy road, we only let him outside on a harnessed leash, with supervision. If we ignore his cries to go out, he tends to act out by peeing on something near the door, such as a pair of shoes or a rug. He has also displayed this type of marking behavior in a more random fashion by urinating in a half-packed suitcase and in closets. When he does this, we scold him and isolate him in the basement for at least an hour. He is about 2 years old, by a vet’s estimate, and has been neutered. His litter box is cleaned more than once a day. We do not want to give him away because he is such a good pet in every other way. Any advice on how to prevent this behavior from continuing? A: What you first have to understand is that the cat is not acting out or doing anything wrong by animal standards. A cat lacks the cognitive brain function to think that urinating on a shoe or bag left on the floor will make you feel sorry for not letting him out of the house. If he urinates on the floor after he is not let out, it is because he had plans to urinate outside and was holding it in. When you did not let him out, he just looked for another option as a place to go. The cat was a stray and in his time living outdoors, he learned that the world is full of different places to urinate in. A cat that has used a litter box all its life usually just thinks that the litter box is the only option. To solve this problem, look at it from the cat’s point of view. When he was living outdoors, he most likely dug holes in the ground and went there. So take some dirt from a flower bed and mix that in with his litter to make it more attractive to him. I would also advise you to put a litter box near the door. If he wants to urinate outdoors and he is not let outside, then the litter box is right there as the handiest option. Send questions to Marc Morrone at petxperts2@aol.com.

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Q: My husband and I adopted a stray cat that had been rescued and sheltered for a few months with friends. He is very sociable, playful and loving, but he is used to getting his way. Since we live on a busy road, we only let him outside on a harnessed leash, with supervision. If we ignore his cries to go out, he tends to act out by peeing on something near the door, such as a pair of shoes or a rug. He has also displayed this type of marking behavior in a more random fashion by urinating in a half-packed suitcase and in closets. When he does this, we scold him and isolate him in the basement for at least an hour. He is about 2 years old, by a vet’s estimate, and has been neutered. His litter box is cleaned more than once a day. We do not want to give him away because he is such a good pet in every other way. Any advice on how to prevent this behavior from continuing?
A: What you first have to understand is that the cat is not acting out or doing anything wrong by animal standards. A cat lacks the cognitive brain function to think that urinating on a shoe or bag left on the floor will make you feel sorry for not letting him out of the house. If he urinates on the floor after he is not let out, it is because he had plans to urinate outside and was holding it in. When you did not let him out, he just looked for another option as a place to go.
The cat was a stray and in his time living outdoors, he learned that the world is full of different places to urinate in. A cat that has used a litter box all its life usually just thinks that the litter box is the only option.
To solve this problem, look at it from the cat’s point of view. When he was living outdoors, he most likely dug holes in the ground and went there. So take some dirt from a flower bed and mix that in with his litter to make it more attractive to him.
I would also advise you to put a litter box near the door. If he wants to urinate outdoors and he is not let outside, then the litter box is right there as the handiest option.
Send questions to Marc Morrone at petxperts2@aol.com.